Shakita Alford of Ki Shot It Visuals: A Heart for Visibility, Awareness, and Giving Back

A camera can document how someone looks. In the hands of a photographer who cares about the person in front of it, it can also offer a moment of recognition. That is the heart of this story about Shakita “Ki Shot It” Alford, the founder of Ki Shot It Visuals.

Her contribution to Auesomely You Cares Inc.’s Adopt a Mom initiative is specific: three donated photoshoots. Alongside her public efforts to bring visibility to sickle cell, the commitment reflects a creative business owner finding ways to serve through her craft.

The heart behind the camera

In a 2023 Shoutout Atlanta interview, Alford described growing up in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh community and the encouragement she received from her family. She spoke openly about living with sickle cell anemia and wanting to bring positivity to the people around her.^[1]

Alford said she began her photography business in 2017 and later renamed it Ki Shot It Visuals. Her stated aim was to help clients feel comfortable being themselves. She also credited her grandmother’s love and encouragement with shaping the way she approaches life.^[1]

Those details matter because they describe the values she brings to her work: attention to people, room for individuality, and a desire to contribute something positive.

Bringing sickle cell awareness into the frame

Alford has used her public Facebook presence to invite people living with sickle cell to participate in themed awareness photoshoots in the Atlanta area. Those posts connect her photography with an effort to make the community more visible.^[2][3]

For a photographer, choosing whose stories receive attention is a meaningful part of the work. A portrait can make room for personality, ambition, and identity alongside a conversation about illness. Awareness begins with recognizing people as people, with lives that extend beyond a diagnosis.

Three photoshoots for Adopt a Mom

Through Auesomely You Cares Inc.’s Adopt a Mom initiative, Ki Shot It Visuals is donating three photoshoots for autism moms and special needs moms. Program organizer Dr. Crystal Jordan, L.H.D. confirmed the sponsorship.

The gift offers three mothers an opportunity to step in front of the camera and be recognized in their own right. For women who devote so much attention to their families, the intention is to make space for them, too.

This is a commitment of time, creative skill, and service. The photoshoots are part of the initiative’s confirmed sponsorships; they are not being presented as sessions that have already taken place.

Impact through what she already does

Alford’s contribution shows how a creative business can participate in community care through its everyday work. She is bringing photography to an initiative that recognizes mothers, while her awareness work invites attention to the sickle cell community.

That is why this feature centers her heart as much as her camera. The impact is in the choice to make room for someone else—to give a skill, share a platform, and help another person feel worthy of being seen.

Follow Ki Shot It Visuals ↗ and visit Adopt a Mom ↗ to learn about the initiative and ways to participate.